Jan 12, 2012

I ran into this infamous "failed on start" error when running SharePoint OOB workflow, and it took me quite a while figuring out before I nearly gave up. So I think it is worth a blog.

Sympton:

1) any publishing workflow failed with the same error, but none of non-publish workflow failed
2) they failed on every site collection in the web application
3) they did not fail to another web application even when the site is also a publishing template

So those symptons make me think the problem is at web application level, and maybe publishing features related. For that reason, I deactived and reactived all features at applicaion level, and also tried deactivate/reactivate publishing features at site collection level (even it doesn;t make sense, but you are willing to try everything when desparate, aren't you?). I also made both applications share same application pool. But none of those effort as well as server reboots helped me find any clue.

About Me

I am a SharePoint consultant, specializing on sharepoint security, farm architecture, search integration and customization. During spare time, I play basketball,while waiting for Heat to regain NBA Title, Redskins to win NFC East again, and Gamecocks to be convered in National TVs. Spending too much time on Captial BeltWay I only enjoy listening Leona Lewis. With my two wonderful kids, We have lots of fun together!